Joe Biden (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009 and served as the 47th vice president of the United States from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. His presidency, his decision to withdraw from the 2024 re-election campaign, and his record across more than five decades in public life remain subjects of ongoing public assessment. For background on disputes over specific aspects of his tenure, see joe-biden-viewpoint and joe-biden-controversy.

Since leaving office in January 2025, Biden has largely stayed out of day-to-day political commentary while making occasional public appearances, including a 2025 lifetime achievement award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Longtime friends and allies have expressed concern about the toll the illness is taking on him. Biden and his aides have said he is doing well and continuing ongoing projects. Separately, Biden has pursued legal action to stop the Justice Department from releasing recordings of an interview he gave during his presidency; for discussion of the broader dispute over his mental acuity while in office, see joe-biden-acuity-controversy. His wife, former first lady Jill Biden, has faced questions from Democratic donors and strategists about how much she knew of his condition while in office. Separately, she had previously praised his performance ahead of the debate that preceded his withdrawal from the 2024 race. Discussion of his post-presidency continues alongside retrospective assessment of his time in the Senate, vice presidency, and presidency; for fuller historical treatment, see joe-biden-history.

• Defender of a substantive legislative legacy - holds that Biden's presidency produced significant, durable accomplishments, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other major legislation, and that his record should be judged primarily on policy outcomes. See joe-biden-legacy-defender-viewpoint.
• Critic of decline and concealment - holds that Biden's age-related decline was apparent during his presidency and was downplayed or concealed by his inner circle, the White House, and sympathetic media, raising questions about who was making decisions and about transparency with the public. See joe-biden-decline-concealment-viewpoint.
• Critic of policy substance - holds that, independent of questions about his health, Biden's specific policy choices on the economy, immigration, and foreign affairs were mistaken or harmful. See joe-biden-policy-critic-viewpoint.
• Defender against acuity criticism - holds that concerns about Biden's mental fitness were overstated, politically motivated, or normal signs of aging that did not impair his ability to govern, and that his public missteps were exaggerated by opponents and media. See joe-biden-acuity-defender-viewpoint.
• Foreign policy hawk critique - holds that Biden's approach to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the war in Gaza reflected weak or inconsistent American leadership abroad. See joe-biden-foreign-policy-viewpoint.

• Disputes over the timing and adequacy of disclosures about Biden's cognitive and physical fitness while in office, including the circumstances of his withdrawal from the 2024 campaign. See joe-biden-acuity-controversy.
• The 2024 withdrawal of the bipartisan border security deal and broader debate over the Biden administration's immigration enforcement record. See joe-biden-immigration-controversy.
• Disputes over U.S. policy toward Israel and Gaza during the 2023-2024 war, including criticism from multiple directions of the administration's approach. See joe-biden-gaza-policy-controversy.
• Controversy surrounding business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and questions about the family's foreign business ties. See joe-biden-hunter-biden-controversy.

• History: joe-biden-history
• Debate: joe-biden-2024-withdrawal-timing-debate
• Viewpoint Debate: joe-biden-legacy-defender-viewpoint-debate
• Related Main Topics: Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, 2024 United States Presidential Election, United States of America - 21st Century History

1. Yasmeen Abutaleb, “Biden projects optimism in cancer fight, but some close friends worry,” *Washington Post*, February 23, 2026, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/23/biden-prostate-cancer-worry/.
2. “Jill Biden faces questions from donors over what she knew of Biden's health,” *NBC News*, accessed June 27, 2026, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/.
3. “Biden sues to block release of special counsel interview recordings,” *CNN Politics*, accessed June 27, 2026, https://edition.cnn.com/politics/joe-biden.
4. “Joe Biden,” *Wikipedia*, last modified 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden.